Sugar scrubs are a favorite of mine; they are easy to make and sugar feels refreshing and nice on the skin. Using up the sugar in my pantry also prevents sugar temptation! 😉 To give this Wildflower Honey Sugar Scrub a little extra “oomph,” I added strawberry seeds. They are a mild tan color and are a little rougher than granulated sugar. Because of this, I recommend this scrub for the body and not for the face. As a bonus, we designed free downloadable labels for this scrub. The template includes labels for the Pure Honey Cold Process Soap and Beeswax Lotion Bars (coming later this week). Find them here.
A combination of jojoba oil and potassium cocoate are added to the dry ingredients for a soft, wet sand texture. Jojoba oil is a luxurious liquid wax that is produced from the seed of the jojoba shrub. Click here to learn more about jojoba oil. Potassium cocoate is the potassium salt of coconut fatty acid, and acts similar to liquid soap. In this scrub, it helps give a mild lather and leaves skin feeling clean rather than oily.
What You’ll Need:
Three Short 8 oz. Plastic Bail Jars
18 oz. Granulated Sugar
1.5 oz. Jojoba Oil
0.5 oz. Potassium Cocoate
4 Tbs. Strawberry Seeds
6 mL Wildflower Honey Fragrance Oil
2.5 mL Optiphen
Droppers
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ONE: In a small container, mix together the jojoba oil and potassium cocoate. The mixture will become cloudy and thick.
TWO: Add the Wildflower Honey Fragrance Oil and Optiphen. Use a spoon to thoroughly mix the ingredients.
NOTE ABOUT PRESERVATIVES: Although this scrub doesn’t contain water, it will likely get water splashed in it during use. The extra water may cause bacteria and mold to grow. We added a preservative to be extra careful, but it is optional. You can read more in the Talk It Out Tuesday: Preservatives post.
THREE: In a large separate container, mix together the sugar and strawberry seeds.
FOUR: Add the liquid ingredients into the sugar and strawberry seeds. Use a spatula or gloved hands to fully combine the ingredients. Spoon into jars. To use, apply to damp skin, and scrub in circular motions. Wash off. Enjoy!
What’s your favorite kind of scrub?
- Three Short 8 oz. Plastic Bail Jars
- 18 oz. Granulated Sugar
- 1.5 oz. Jojoba Oil
- 0.5 oz. Potassium Cocoate
- 4 Tbs. Strawberry Seeds
- 6 mL Wildflower Honey Fragrance Oil
- 2.5 mL Optiphen
- Droppers
- In a small container, mix together the jojoba oil and potassium cocoate. The mixture will become cloudy and thick.
- Add the Wildflower Honey Fragrance Oil and optiphen. Use a spoon to thoroughly mix the ingredients. NOTE ABOUT PRESERVATIVES: Although this scrub doesn’t contain water, it will likely get water splashed in it during use. The extra water may cause bacteria and mold to grow. We added a preservative to be extra careful, but it is optional.
- In a large separate container, mix together the sugar and strawberry seeds.
- Add the liquid ingredients into the sugar and strawberry seeds. Use a spatula or gloved hands to fully combine the mixture. Spoon into jars. To use, apply to damp skin, and scrub in circular motions. Wash off. Enjoy!
Could you recommend a couple other good oils I could use in place of Jojoba, since that can be a bit pricey? I love coconut oil, but a family member has a sensitivity to it…
I personally would recommend something like Meadowfoam Oil instead of the Jojoba for this recipe. If you wanted to cut the Potassium Cocoate you could use any Liquid Soap Concentrate Base instead.
https://www.brambleberry.com/Stephenson-Liquid-Soap-Concentrate-Base-P6287.aspx
https://www.brambleberry.com/Liquid-Soap-Concentrate-Base-P4278.aspx
Can I use Pure Honey Fragrance Oil instead of Wildflower Honey Fragrance Oil? If so, how much would you recommended using? Thank you!
You can, Pure Honey will smell really nice in this recipe. Find out how much to add with our Fragrance Calculator. Just select “salts”: http://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Fragrance-Calculator.aspx
Pure Honey Fragrance Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pure-Honey-Fragrance-Oil-P6218.aspx
Thank you!
Hello! Could you use almond oil in place of the jojoba oil in this recipe?
Yes, sweet almond oil will work well in this recipe.
Sweet almond oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/sweet-almond-oil-p3205.aspx
Hi there, thank you for this wonderful tutorial. First I would like to know If i wanted to replace the potassium cocoate with castille soap, should I still use the same amount as the recipe above ? And second, my supplier told me the preservatives should be added to the final phase of the product, but in this tutorial I saw that you add it to the liquid phase of the product which is more make sense to me. I wanted to know if there’s a reason why you prefer it that way ? Thanks in advance!
Yes, you can use the same amount of Castile soap as the potassium cocoate. It will add similar cleansing properties.
Natural Liquid Castile Soap Base: https://www.brambleberry.com/Natural-Castile-Liquid-Soap-Base-P4609.aspx
As for the preservatives, they are usually added in the final phase of making lotion because of the temperature. If the product is too hot the preservative can degrade. In this case because you’re working with a room temperature product, you can add it right to the liquid.
Learn more about preservatives here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/talk-it-out-tuesday-preservatives/
I would like to use essential oils in place of fragrance oils. How much essential oil would you recommend for this recipe?
You can use our Fragrance Calculator to find out how much essential oil to add! Just select “Salts” from the drop down menu. 🙂
Fragrance Calculator: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Fragrance-Calculator.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Can we do it without potassium cocoate?
You can! Without the potassium cocoate, the scrub will have a more oily feeling on the skin. If you like a more moisturizing scrub you can leave it as is. If you prefer your scrub to have cleansing properties, you can add liquid soap instead. 🙂
Liquid soap: https://www.brambleberry.com/Liquid-Bases-C15.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
its shelf life????????????
This scrub has a shelf life of at least a year. It stores best in a cool, dry place. 🙂
Learn more about shelf lives here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/shelf-life-bath-products-ingredients-rancidity-vs-mold/
And more about how to store your products here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-store-handmade-bath-products/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I have two questions being a novice at this. First, can you add any soap to this scrub (like a little Castille soap) so that it cleans as well as moisturizes. Second, I see “whipped” sugar scrubs on the web, can this be whipped? Does whipping cause any difference other than appearance (such as keeping it from separating over time)?
You can use a liquid soap in this recipe! Potassium cocoate is very similar to soap, so you can swap that out with Castille. That will feel really nice. 🙂
Whipping the oils in this scrub will give them a foamy texture, but not a light, fluffy texture. For that we recommend butters or Foaming Bath Butter. Once they’re whipped they get nice and fluffy. I’ll link some scrubs below made with them!
Pumpkin Spice Latte Sugar Scrub: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/pumpkin-spice-sugar-scrub-on-soap-queen-tv/
Cucumber Melon Sea Salt Scrub: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cucumber-sea-salt-scrub-diy/
Sparkling Snow Sugar Scrub: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/sparkling-snow-sugar-scrub/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
All About Butters: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/all-about-butters-in-bath-beauty-products/
Foaming Bath Butter: https://www.brambleberry.com/Foaming-Bath-Butter-P4955.aspx
Would you recommend Sodium Benzoate as a preservative for sugar/ salt scrubs? If yes, what percentage?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Monika!
Sodium benzoate is often used to preserve food, but we haven’t worked with it a lot so I’m not sure. I’m sorry about that! You may contact the manufacturer to see if it works well in cosmetics. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Could you use melted shea butter in place of the jojoba oil? If so, how much would one use?
You can use shea butter in this scrub if you like! Because it is a firm butter, it will give the scrub a different consistency than liquid jojoba oil. I would recommend starting with 1 ounce of shea butter. If you want the scrub to have a softer consistency, you can add more potassium cocoate or a liquid oil. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Shea butter: https://www.brambleberry.com/Shea-Butter-P3220.aspx
Thanks, Kelsey! I used 1.5 oz melted shea butter and 1 tbsp. of rice bran oil in the scrub, along with coffee grounds instead of strawberry seeds and pumpkin FO instead of Wildflower & Honey. So, aside from not following the recipe at all :), it came out great.
Happy to hear that Beth! Your version sounds lovely 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Does this fragrance discolor the sugar scrub? If so, should I add a vanilla stabilizer?
Vanilla discoloration is a bit inconsistent in products like scrubs. Sometimes it does discolor, sometimes it doesn’t. Or, sometimes it will but it takes awhile. We made this scrub about a month ago and haven’t noticed any discoloration yet! Vanilla Color Stabilizer works well in melt and pour but I’m not sure about its performance in scrubs. To be extra safe, you can use a vanilla free fragrance: https://www.brambleberry.com/Clear-Vanilla-Free-C491.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
what is the shelf life for this scrub?
This scrub has a fairly long shelf life – at least a year, probably a bit longer. That’s because the jojoba oil used in the scrub has an indefinite shelf life. 🙂
Learn more about how to find the shelf lives of products here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/shelf-life-bath-products-ingredients-rancidity-vs-mold/
To keep the scrub fresher longer, we recommend storing it in a cool, dry place. This post has more on how to store your products: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-store-handmade-bath-products/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Such trickery, no actual honey used lol. Is there a natural alternative to potassium cocoate?
Honey can be tricky to mix into scrubs, but this recipe does smell like it! In place of the potassium cocoate, you can use a liquid soap base. They feel similar! You can also skip the potassium cocoate and add more jojoba oil. That will make the scrub less cleansing and more moisturizing. 🙂
Liquid soap bases: https://www.brambleberry.com/Liquid-Bases-C15.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I was under the impression that potassium cocoate was a natural product…is this incorrect?
Hi Shana!
It depends on your definition of natural! We consider it a natural product. However, natural is an unregulated term and means something different to everyone. For instance, some may consider our shea butter natural because it’s from a natural source. Others may not because the shea has been refined. You can read more about natural vs. organic here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/natural-vs-organic/
You can find all the ingredients and information for potassium cocoate here: https://www.brambleberry.com/Potassium-Cocoate-P5902.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
How would you go about adding actual honey to this recipe to have the benefits in addition to the honey fragrance?
Adding honey to this recipe can be tricky. Because honey is water soluble, it won’t mix in with the scrub. Instead, it will pool on the bottom. If you want to add honey, I would recommend keeping a spoon handy to mix before each use. 🙂
Read more about working with honey here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/use-honey-bath-beauty-products/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
What about using honey powder? itll get activated with the water? Could that work?
I’m not quite sure about the honey powder! I would recommend making a small test batch with it to see if you notice any separation. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Wildflower Honey is probably my most favorite fragrance you carry, or at least in the top 3. 🙂
Oh so glad you love it Martina! I’m a big fan as well. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
This DIY scrub sounds really good. As everyone know honey is very much beneficial for skin. This scrub can be really beneficial to get rid of skin impurities. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
You’re welcome Rebecca, glad you like it! The scrub smells so good, hope you get a chance to try it. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry